


Scars

by realityisoverrated



Series: Infinite Love [79]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Polyamory, Polyfidelity, Self-Acceptance, Self-Esteem Issues, Smoaking billionaires, Toliver, flommy, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-18 21:32:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9403718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realityisoverrated/pseuds/realityisoverrated
Summary: Oliver's nine year old daughter is becoming body conscious. They discuss their scars and how they make them feel.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This story depicts a polyamorous relationship between one woman and two men. If this is not something you are interested in, please stop and go no further.
> 
> The votes are in and the most requested story was about Prue and her conversation with Oliver about her scars.
> 
> Thank you for your continued support of this series. Your comments have been very entertaining and thought provoking. 
> 
> I'm not telling this series in chronological order. Some readers have requested that I provide a chronological order for the fics in the series. There is no need to read them in chronological order, but in case you'd like to, the list is below. This installment is 78/79. (There is a known issue at AO3. If viewing the stories from the series page, the story numbers aren't always correct. The story number when you open the individual stories is correct).  
> 1\. Beautiful Stranger (Part 28)  
> 2\. The Hack of the Golden Dragon (Part 36)  
> 3\. Girl Wednesday (Part 41)  
> 4\. This Time Last Year (Part 44)  
> 5\. The First Time (Part 1)  
> 6\. Aloe and Chamomile (Part 40)  
> 7\. The Italian Restaurant (Part 3)  
> 8\. Ground Rules (Part 43)  
> 9\. Do The Hustle (Part 21)  
> 10\. The Secret Ingredient (Part 65)  
> 11\. Wherever You Are, There I Am (Part 8)  
> 12\. Perfect (Part 16)  
> 13\. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (Part 49)  
> 14\. Practical Jokes and Other Misunderstandings (Part 14)  
> 15\. Cobble Hill (Part 4)  
> 16\. The Sunnybrook (Part 51)  
> 17\. House Warming (Part 15)  
> 18\. 30 (Part 30)  
> 19\. Hong Kong (Part 35)  
> 20\. Twenty Questions Over Brunch (Part 11)  
> 21\. Hildy (Part 5)  
> 22\. Burgers & Lies (Part 9)  
> 23\. You Say You Want A Revolution (Part 22)  
> 24\. Unexpected Gifts (Part 70)  
> 25\. Look Me In The Eye And Make Me Feel The Truth (Part 12)  
> 26\. Fight Night (Part 20)  
> 27\. Fear and Loathing (Part 42)  
> 28\. With The Band (Part 53)  
> 29\. The Scarecrow (Part 59)  
> 30\. An Island Of His Own Making (Part 74)  
> 31\. Pas de Deux (Part 75)  
> 32\. Take It Back (Part 76)  
> 33\. Into Thin Air (Part 17)  
> 34\. Haunted (Part 58)  
> 35\. It’s Just Like Falling (Part 27)  
> 36\. Will You Still Love Me, Tomorrow? (Part 7)  
> 37\. Life With The Arrow (Part 23)  
> 38\. Up All Night (Part 6)  
> 39\. Welcome Home (Part 10)  
> 40\. Deadshot (Part 62)  
> 41\. Better Than Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes (Part 24)  
> 42\. The Right To Remain Silent (Part 61)  
> 43\. Home Is Where You Are (Part 2)  
> 44\. Somebody Get A Hammer (Part 26)  
> 45\. Tush Push (Part 48)  
> 46\. Elves (Part 68)  
> 47\. Three (Part 13)  
> 48\. Life Lived In The Tabloids (Part 18)  
> 49\. Tokyo Calling (Part 25)  
> 50\. Something Blue (Part 39)  
> 51\. Prudence Chastity (Part 19)  
> 52\. Love Is Worth It In The End (Part 33)  
> 53\. The Mini (Part 38)  
> 54\. The Hall of Fame (Part 46)  
> 55\. A Name By Any Other (Part 47)  
> 56\. The Drop Out (Part 32)  
> 57\. Homework (Part 64)  
> 58\. Count Your Blessings (Part 71)  
> 59\. William (Part 29)  
> 60\. Hold On For One More Day (Part 31)  
> 61\. I Have No Gifts To Bring (Part 72)  
> 62\. Yours, Mine, Ours (Part 37)  
> 63\. Rules Are Made To Be Broken (Part 55)  
> 64\. The Forty-Year-Old Graduate (Part 78)  
> 65\. Hope Is Believing In The Light When All You See Is Darkness (Part 52)  
> 66\. Emma (Part 77)  
> 67\. Open Up And Say Ah (Part 60)  
> 68\. Saturdays With The Green Arrow (Part 34)  
> 69\. I Would Not Trade What Might Have Been For What Is (Part 50)  
> 70\. Brothers (Part 45)  
> 71\. Hallelujah (Part 69)  
> 72\. The Green Arrow Did It (Part 73)  
> 73\. Strawberry Milkshake With A Side Of Why (Part 56)  
> 74\. All About The Jeans (Part 54)  
> 75\. A Bunny For Prue (Part 63)  
> 76\. Day 107 (Part 67)  
> 77\. Boys Who Kiss Boys Who Kiss Girls Who Kiss Boys Who Kiss Boys (Part 57)  
> 78\. Scars (Part 79)  
> 79\. Tummy Aches and Heart Aches (Part 66)
> 
> Welcome to any new readers who have stumbled into this universe. The more the merrier.
> 
> Arrow and its characters do not belong to me.

>

Artwork by Lademonessa

 

“Wow, did you leave anything in the store?” Oliver asked as Felicity, Becca and Prue carried armloads of bags through the foyer.

Tommy’s eyes went wide as he came to see what all the commotion was about, “You do realize they have clothing in Italy? We’re going for two months not ten years.”

“Da, I don’t fit in any of my summer clothes from last year,” thirteen-year-old Becca informed him.

Oliver didn’t doubt the truth of his daughter’s statement. She was 5’8” and towered over her mother. He would much rather Becca buy new clothes than run around in dresses that had been knee length and shorts that had reached mid-thigh when she was 5’5”. Becca was beautiful and attracted a lot of attention from boys several years older than her. Due to her height, most people didn’t realize that she was thirteen and not eighteen. Oliver was unhappy to see his daughter being objectified for her appearance. Becca was remarkable in so many ways that were more important than her looks. Oliver completely trusted his daughter and loved that she was all gangly limbs and completely oblivious to the effect she had on the boys around her. She’d shown zero interest in boys beyond expressing a desire to be in a polyamorous relationship when she grew up. For the moment, relationships with boys was purely theoretical. It was probably the last summer Oliver would be able to call his little girl, little. She was fast becoming a woman, but she’d always remain his little girl. “Well, it certainly looks like you found things you like.”

“I’m going to go put this stuff in my suitcase.” She hugged her mom without letting go of any of her bags, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome sweet pea,” Felicity grinned.

“How about you, Prue?” Tommy knelt in front of their soon to be ten-year-old, “did you find anything you liked.”

Prue’s usual radiant smile had been replaced with a solemn expression, “I guess so.” She turned to Felicity, “I’m going to put my stuff away too.”

Oliver and Tommy watched their daughter slowly climb the stairs. “Did someone steal her bunny collection?” Tommy wondered aloud.

Felicity gestured for her husbands to follow her into the living room, closing the doors behind them. “We were looking at bathing suits. Becca was trying on a bikini.” Felicity held up her hand when her husbands were about to protest, “Relax, the one she got, maybe a half an inch of her belly shows. Prue wanted to try a bikini too. I think it was a little hard for Prue to stand next to Becca with their stomachs showing.”

“Her scars,” Oliver looked towards the closed doors. He knew all too well how uncomfortable it could be to have visible scars.

“Yeah,” Felicity said sadly. “She’s becoming body conscious.”

Oliver was already in motion, “I’m going to go talk to her.”

 

The second story was quiet.  Bobby was at school working on something for the proposal of his dissertation, Nate was over his friend's house and Oliver could hear Becca on her phone with one of her friends discussing her new summer wardrobe.  Prue was standing on her bed looking at her reflection in the mirror over her dresser.  She had her shirt bunched up under her breasts and was tracing the scars on her stomach.  She was biting her bottom lip and her eyes were moist.

Oliver pulled his shirt over his head and knocked on her door.  Prue looked up and her face went pink with embarrassment.  She moved to lower her shirt, but stopped when Oliver shook his head.  He stood in front of her mirror.  He pointed to the scar he'd received from Billy Wintergreen, "This one bothers me the most.  I don't like looking at it." He considered it his first scar even though he’d received one from Yao Fei within hours of landing on Lian Yu.  The arrow from Yao Fei had been used to save his life.  Billy Wintergreen's blade had been his first taste of torture.

Prue pointed to her most recent scar that was still purple and puffy. Her last surgery had been five months earlier and the purple scar was a constant reminder of how they could never take her health for granted. Her finger traced the line of the scar, "I hate this one. It's ugly and it still hurts." She dropped her shirt and gestured for her dad to come closer.  Oliver moved to the edge of her bed and she touched the scar he pointed out.  "This one doesn't look that bad." Her eyes flew up to his when she realized what she said, "None of them look that bad.  You're not ugly."

He smiled and kissed her hand, "That's okay, sweetheart.  Some of them are pretty ugly." He watched her look at his chest and torso, "Which one of them bothers you the most?"

"That's easy," Prue's hand reached out and touched his shark bite. "I'm glad you don't taste very good," she stated solemnly.

He’d never hidden his scars from his children.  He walked around shirtless at home and whenever they went swimming at Thea's or in Italy.  The children just thought of the scars the same way they thought about his eyes being blue, it was just how daddy looked.  It wasn't until they got to be around four or five that they realized his scars were once boo boos.  They were curious and asked questions.  Most of the scars had stories too terrible to tell them.  He usually told them that he fell or got cut.  The one scar he'd always been honest about was the bite mark, and maybe for that reason, the shark bite was the scar the children were most fascinated with.  Bobby and Nate thought it was cool.  Their imaginations had conjured up a story were Oliver tussled with a great white shark and punched it repeatedly until it let go.  Becca worried about how much it had hurt Oliver and if he’d been scared.  Prue was more worried that something had wanted to make Oliver its dinner.  Prue's own obsession with food made her worries about Oliver being food understandable.  Oliver laughed, "I'm glad that I don't taste very good too."

"Mommy says your scars show how strong you are," she said as he put his shirt back on.

He sat down on her bed and she climbed onto his lap.  "So do yours.  You are far stronger and braver than I've ever been."

She giggled, "I wouldn't be brave if a shark bit me."

He rubbed his nose against hers, "Luckily, you'll never have to test that theory."

"Do your scars make you feel brave?" she asked touching his shark bite through his shirt.

"My scars remind me that I experienced terrible things and survived.  When I'm having a bad day and feeling sorry for myself, they remind me that I've had worse days.  They remind me how hard I fought to come home to your Grandma Moira, Aunt Thea and your dad.  If I didn't have all these scars, I wouldn't have you." The last sentence made his heart lurch in his chest.  He'd never really put the pieces together.  Without the torture he'd endured, he never would've had fertility problems that resulted in the birth of the twins.  Life without Prue and Nate was unimaginable.  He hugged his daughter, "I don't regret a single scar because, without them, I never would've met your mommy and, your dad and I wouldn't have had you or your brothers and sister."

Prue looked at him thoughtfully, "I don't want any more surgeries."

He wrapped his arms around her tightly when she began to cry. He pressed his lips to the top of her head,  "I don't want you to have any more surgeries either."

When Prue had stopped crying she remained on Oliver’s lap with her head against his chest, “I’m not as pretty as Becks.”

“Because of your scars?” Oliver smoothed his hand over her hair.

“Because of my scars and I’m short and she has nicer hair,” Prue said.

“I think you’re beautiful,” Oliver said truthfully.

“You have to say that, you’re my dad,” Prue snuggled against him.

“That might be true, but it doesn’t make you any less beautiful.” He kissed the top of her head, “You look like your mom and she’s the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“Mom’s prettier than me too and she’s old,” Prue said dejectedly.

Oliver tried not to laugh at his daughter’s statement. Felicity would be horrified to hear her child describe her as, old.

“When you were born,” Oliver said shifting her so she could see his face, “you were so tiny, I could fit you in the palms of my hand. I’d never been more terrified than I was when I saw how small you were. The first time we had to rush you to the hospital for surgery, the doctors told us that you were very sick. Your mommy, da and I were so scared. Before they took you into surgery, I was able to hold you. You looked at me and took hold of my finger and you squeezed it. I knew in that moment that Prudence Harper Smoak was a fighter. Your scars tell me how strong you are. There is beauty in strength. Never be ashamed of your scars.” He kissed her forehead, “Don’t ever believe someone who tells you that you’re not beautiful. If they say that to you, they’re not seeing the real you. You complain because you’re short. Becca complains because she’s tall. You want dark hair, she wants blonde hair. Height and hair color don’t make you beautiful. You’re both beautiful because you are kind and funny and intelligent and I love you both more than you could possibly understand. I’m proud to be your father and it has nothing to do with how either of you look.”

Oliver looked up to see his eldest daughter lurking just outside the door. He held out his hand, “Come here.”

Becca’s face lit up and she rushed into the twins’ bedroom. She sat on Oliver’s free leg and wrapped an arm around her dad and her other around Prue. She rested her head on Oliver’s shoulder and played with Prue’s braid. “I know it’s silly because I know in order to get a scar you have to be hurt or need surgery, but I always wanted a scar.”

Prue narrowed her eyes at her sister, “Why?”

Becca shrugged, “Because daddy has scars and da has scars and mommy has scars and you have scars. I felt left out.”

Oliver smiled at a memory tugging to break free, “When I first met your mom, your Uncle John, Aunt Sara and I were all comparing our scars. Your mom informed us that she had scars too.” He paused for dramatic effect, “Her scars were from having her wisdom teeth pulled.”

Both of his daughters giggled.

“Did she open her mouth to show you?” Becca asked knowingly.

“She did,” Oliver remembered Felicity opening her mouth wide and he laughed. He pushed the next memory away before he remembered how she scared him to death receiving her first visible scar saving Sara’s life from Tockman’s gun.

“I don’t want you to get hurt or need to have surgery,” Prue told her big sister. “It’s okay not to have scars.”

“The hardest lesson I had to learn was how to love myself,” Oliver told his daughters. “There were times when I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror because I hated what I saw.”

“Because of your scars?” Prue played with a button on his shirt.

“Partly, because of my scars, but mostly because of the things I’d done to hurt the people I loved. I didn’t like myself.” He smiled at his solemn looking daughters, “I was lucky, your mom and dad helped me to start liking who I was. They helped me to learn to love myself. I never want you to look in the mirror and hate yourself. You are who you are. Embrace what makes you stand out. Don’t be critical of the things you can’t control. The most important thing is for you to love yourself and if you’re ever having a day when that’s hard, you come talk to me and I’ll remind you of all the reasons you are lovable.”

“Mom’s right,” Becca kissed Oliver’s cheek, “you are a goofball.”

“A goofball?” Oliver laughed.

“Our favorite goofball,” Prue promised.

“If you ever need to be reminded of why we love you, you just need to ask us,” Becca smiled.

“Yeah?” he asked, his voice heavy with emotion.

“We’ve got a list,” Prue informed him. “It’s a long one.”

“Of course, the list of the ways you embarrass us is also a long one,” Becca teased.

Prue’s eyes went wide, “Not as long as da’s list.”

Becca rolled her eyes, “Da is so embarrassing.”

Oliver laughed, “I better sign up for classes from the master. Embarrassing their daughters is at the top of every father’s list of responsibilities.”

Prue patted his cheek, “You’re doing just fine. Especially if you bring that shirt with the coconuts to Italy.”

Becca nodded her head vigorously in agreement.

“What’s wrong with that shirt?” Oliver asked with surprise. Clearly, his daughters had discussed this shirt before. Tommy had given him the shirt as a joke, but Oliver really enjoyed wearing it.

Becca snorted, “It’s hideous.”

“I wasn’t planning on bringing it to Italy, but now I think I’m going to wear it every time we go out in public together,” Oliver said seriously. He could already visualize their expressions as they waited for him by the car. He was going to enjoy the hell out of wearing that shirt over the summer. He laughed as both of his daughters playfully groaned.

“See,” Prue eye’s twinkled with merriment, “you don’t need any lessons. You’re plenty embarrassing without da’s help.”

Becca hopped off Oliver’s lap and held her hand out to her sister, “Grab your bags. Da said we can watch movies in their room as long as we’re packing for Italy. Mom said she’ll make us popcorn.”

Prue’s face lit up with a smile. For some unknown reason, the children preferred watching movies in their parents’ bed. Becca took two empty suitcases from her sister’s closet and Prue grabbed her bags of new clothing and they rushed out of the room. Oliver could hear her bags rustling down the hallway towards his room. He was standing up when Prue dashed back into the room and threw her arms around him.

“Thanks, daddy,” she said squeezing him tightly before she ran back out of the room to join her sister.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always welcomed and appreciated. Hearing from you is my favorite part of the day.
> 
> In case you missed the story voting in the comments last week, I'm open to your preferences for Wednesday's story. Your choices are:  
> 1\. Tommy and Oliver take Bobby to his first baseball game. They have a run in with some drunk guys. Later that night Bobby asks Oliver why they were being called names. It's actually a sweet story despite that description.  
> 2\. Becca has a good reason to be afraid of the paparazzi. This fic is set during Felicity's postpartum depression and we will see Tommy angry with her. Lots of angst.  
> 3\. Tommy is in therapy after Haunted and asks Oliver to come to his next session. There is a flashback to the incident they fight about in Take It Back.  
> 4\. Nate struggles with issues of identity and paternity. 
> 
> You can also come say hi to me on tumblr. http://realityisoverrated-fic.tumblr.com/


End file.
